Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Rita Lau will leave Hong Kong November 16 to attend the 2008 APEC meetings in Peru, and to visit Los Angeles and Vancouver.

In Los Angeles on November 17 Mrs Lau will give a keynote speech at a business luncheon, meet members of the Committee of 100 and tour the Walt Disney Company.

She will arrive in Lima, Peru, November 18 to attend the 2008 APEC Annual Ministerial Meeting and join the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. She will also hold bilateral meetings with some ministerial counterparts.

From November 23 to 25 Mrs Lau will visit Vancouver to discuss Hong Kong's economic development, and the opportunities for Canadian business under the Hong Kong-Mainland Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement at a seminar.

She will meet the city's mayor and University of British Columbia students, and visit an IT company and facilities relating to the development of tourism and the creative industry there.

Mrs Lau will return to Hong Kong November 27.